Process of producing carbon monoxide from light hydrocarbons

Claim 1

Process for producing carbon monoxide from light hydrocarbon feedstock having an average C number not greater than 15 and containing sulfur impurities which comprises: a. mixing the hydrocarbon feedstock with 0.02 - 0.1 standard cubic meter hydrogen per kilogram of hydrocarbon feedstock; b. subjecting this mixture to desulfurization; c. mixing the desulfurized mixture with superheated process steam in a ratio of 1.1 - 1.7 moles per mole of carbon in the feedstock; d. reacting the resulting mixture from (c) in contact with a catalyst containing 35 - 70 percent by weight of nickel in a reaction zone at temperatures of 300° - 500° C and at a pressure of 10 - 20 kilograms per square centimeter to produce a high methane rich gas; e. reducing the pressure of said rich gas by an amount of 4 - 12 kilograms per square centimeter and reacting said rich gas in a tubular heating zone in contact with an indirectly heated catalyst containing 10 - 30 percent by weight of nickel at a temperature in the range of 850° - 980° C to produce a product gas which is rich in carbon monoxide and hydrogen; f. cooling said product gas and removing carbon dioxide and water vapor therefrom; and g. separating carbon monoxide from said cooled product gas by condensation of carbon monoxide.